Refrigerator-car-door-operating mechanism



Aug. 28, 1928.

S. B. HASELTINE REFRIGERATOR CAR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 21, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet r f ffm 5. j. @ma .5 H 3 a B BMM |1IHH, l i@ z Aug. 28, 1928.

S. B. HASELTINE REFRIGERAIOR CAR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan. 2l, 1924 ...llllllll Fig? Patented Aug. 28, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.A

STACY IB. HASELTINE, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO W. H. MINER, INC., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

REFRIGERATOR-CAR-DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application led January 21, 1924. Serial No. 687,528.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerator door operating mechanisms.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple and eiicient arrangement of door operating mechanism, especially adapted for refrigerator cars, for forcing the doors to tightly closed position for holding the same closed, and which will also be effective 1n starting the door opening operation.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the character indicated, especially designed for operating doors of the swinging type, including a rotary operating shaft having an offset portion' functioning as a door operating crank arm adapted to coact with a Xed keeper secured to the door framing.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevational View of a portion of a refrigerator car, showing my improvements in connection therewith. Figure 2 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view, partly broken away, corresponding substantially to the line 2 2 of Figure l. Figure 3 is a horizontal, sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 3-3 of Figure 1. And Figures 4 and 5 are horizontal, sectional Views through one of the offset end portions of the operating shaft taken along the lower edge of the right hand door, Figure 4 showing the position of the parts when the doors are completely closed and Figure 5 showing the'position of the parts with the right hand. doorpartly closed.

In said drawing, the Vcaris shown as pro vided with a door frame '10 and two pivoted doors 11 and 12 having meeting beveled edges in the usual manner. -^As is customary in refrigerator cars, insulation o'r packing is employed between the meeting edges of the doors themselves and around the sides and top. The doors 11 and -12 are mounted to swing about vertical axes, being supported by suitable hinges 13.

As shown, the improved door operating mechanism comprises broadly, an operating shaft A provided with two end castings B-B and an operating handle C; upper and lower keepers D-D coacting with the castings B; and a pair of upper and lower bearing brackets E-E.

'cent the free edge thereof.

The operating shaft A is in the form of a flat bar of rectangular cross section having the handle or lever C pin 21.

The castings B are disposed respectively at the upper and lower ends of the shaft A. Each of the end castings B, as shown, is preferably in the form of a crank having a cylindrical journal portion 22 alined With the axis of tlie operating shaft and an offset cylindrical end portion `23 or crank arm which latter also serves as a journal section as hereinafter described. Each casting B isforined with a head 24 at the outer end of the journal portion 22, vertically slotted as indicated at 25 to receive the corresponding end ff the shaft A, to which it is fixed by rivets 26 or any other suitable form of securing means. At the opposite end of each casting B, projecting laterally from the free end of the offset portion 23, are a pair of diametrically opposed. horizontally disposed lugs 27 and 28 offset 90 from the plane of the crank Vportion 23. The lug 28 is equal in width to the diameter of the portion 23, while the lug 27 is of approz'riinately half the width of the lug 28 and is disposed to one side of the vertical axis of the .crank arm 23, having its inner edge 29 radially disposed thereto. The free end of the lug 27 is beveled as indicated at 31. The surfaces 29 and 31 together constitute a cam member adapted to coact with the corresponding keeper D. At the inner end of the lug 27 the crank 23 is vertically recessed as in dicated at 32, providing a concave cam face grming a continuation of the straight face The bearingbrackets E-E, which are of like construction, are respectivelymounted at the upper and lower ends of the door 11 adj a- Eacli of the brackets E comprises `a housing provided with a pair of oppositely disposed flanges 33 by which-the bracket is bolted to the door. The housing of each bracket is delined by a vertically disposed wall 34 and a horizontally disposed wall 35, the wall 34 having spaced parallel side sections' and a curved outer section. The walls 35 of the'two brackets E respectively form closures for the top of the lower housing and the bottom of the upper housing. Each wall is provided with a boss 36 having a bearing opening 37, elongated parallel to the door, the openings 37 of the two pivoted thereto by a housings being vertically alined and -each adapted to rotatably and'reciprocatingly receive the corresponding bea-ring ortions 22 of At the bottom of the ower bracket elongated perpendicularly to the door." It

will be noted that the brackets EE in conjunction with the crank portions of the shaft.

afford a 'camming action which serves to positively cause lateral bodily travel of the shaft with reference to the door when the shaft is rotated. r

The upper and lower keepers, which are mounted on the lintel and'threshold of the door frame are of substantially similar oo nstruction, eaoh comprising a verticallydisposed, plate-like portion 38 by which the keeper is bolted to the car. Fach plate .38 is provided with outwardly proJccting, horizontally disposed, upper and lower spaced flanges 39-39. Each keeper is also provided with a slot 40 disposed parallel to the side wall of the car, open at the left hand end as seen 1n Figures 1, 4 and 5 of the drawing, and adapted to receive the corresponding lug 27 of the shaft A. The slot 40 of each keeper is defined by a vertically disposed web 41 extending between tlie flanges 39 and a relatively thick wall 42 having its outer face beveled and its end rounded.

The plate portion 38 of the lower keeper D is extended to the left as seen in Figure 1, beyond the free edge of the door 11 and has plvotally mounted thereon a latch member 43 adapted to coact with a plate 44 secured to the door 12 adjacent the lower outer corner thereof. The latch 43 serves to retain the door 12 in position When closed.

The handle C is adapted to be locked as shown in Figure l by any suitable latch d evice as indicated at 45 and sealed in any suitable manner.

In operation, my improved mechanism works as follows, assuming the doors in closed position doors. With the doors cl'osed, the lugs 27 are in the position best indicated by Figure 4, and, as the shaft is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction through the handle C, the lugs 27 will first cooperate with the walls 41, thus forcing the centers of the Journal or crank arin sections 23 of the shaft outwardly away from the door frame. During this action, the journal sections 22 of the shaft will move to the left in the elongated bearings 37, as viewed in Figure 3, and it will be obvious that the door 11 is thereby gradually forced outwardly.. As the rotation of the shaft continues in the manner described, the lug 28 will thereafter engage the inclined cam faces 5l-51, of the brackets D (see Fig. 5) and the axis of the crank arm or journal sections 23 will be still fur-ther moved outwardly -away from the door frame aii'd the door 11 consequently further and that it isdesired to open thev opened. At thispoint, attention isdirecte'd .to the fact that the opening throw of the door is augmented due to the combined throw obtained by Athe lugs 27 plus the additional 'I throw caused by lugs' 28 traveling along 'the inclined .bearing faces 51 above referred to. 'Ihis is of importance since, with a given offset of the lcrank arm sections 23 relative to the journal sections 22 orcenter line ofthe main part of the shaft','I am enabled to obtainan`- opening movement which is in excess of double the offset 'of the crank arm sections 23 and hence positively insure that the free edge of the door 1,1 will clear and be fully released from the free edge of the other door 12. Assoon as this movement above described has taken place, it-is evident that the door 11 can then be readily swung to fully opened position and the door 12 thereafter opened by'releasing the latch 43.

The shaft A being first disposed in the position shown in Figure 5, the door 11 is slammed. This will bring the lug 28 into violent engagement with the face 51, which will tend to rotate the shaft A partially in a closing direction, bringing the lug 27 around into position to enter the slot 40,' whereupon closing of the door is completed by rotating the operating shaft by means of the handle lever C, the various portions of the mecha.- nism assuming the full line position shown in Figures 2 and 4.

By referringto Figure 3, it will be noted that the elongated bearing openings 37 in the brackets E are elongated to bothsides of the main axis of the shaft as viewed in said figure, although the shaft never moves into the righthand part of said elongated openings. This is done to enable me to use the same pattern for both brackets E for top and bottoni. It will also be noted that the brackets E are made each as a single piece to reduce the number of parts and said brackets are assembled with the shaft, as follows. A .bracket E is applied, for instance, to the lower end of the shaft, with the elongated bearing opening 37 parallel to the lugs 27 and 28 andthe latter inserted through the elongated bearing opening 37. After the lugs are passed through said bearing opening, the bracket is given a turn which then brings the lugs 27 and 26 in alinement with the lower bearing opening 50, vthrough which said lugs may then be dropped, thus leaving the offset portion between the journal sections 22 and 23.

lll

s bination with a member having a door opening and a pivoted door; `of a keeper fixed to sald member adjacent the door opening, said keeper being providedgwith an elongated slot; an operating rotary shaft mounted on the door; means for rotating the shaft; means for effecting bodily movement of the shaft transversely of the door when rotated; and eccentric means on said shaft co-acting with the slot of said keeper for effecting movementof the door, said means being movedeccentrically to the shaft while partaking of the bodily movement of Othe shaft.

2. In a ldoor operating mechanism, the combination with a member having a door opening and a pivoted door; of a rotary shaft journaled on said door and bodily movable therewith; a keeperfixed on said member; eccentrically disposed elements on said shaft, said elements successively coacting with said keeper to effect movement of the door upon rotation of the shaft.

3. In a door operating mechanism, the combination with a member having a door opening and a pivoted door; of a rotary operating shaft supported on the door, la crank arm on said shaft means co-operating with the crank arm for imparting movement to the shaft bodily transversely along the door when r0- tated; a cam element on said arm; and keeper means iixedon said member engageable by the cam element for effecting movement of the door upon rotation of said shaft.

4. In a refrigerator car having a pivoted side door, the combination with an operating shaft mounted on said door, said shaft being lbodily movable with the door and provided with a crank portion; a pair of cam elements on said crank portion; a'bearing on the door for said shaft; a keeper fixed to the car, said keeper having a plurality of faces adapted to coact respectively with said elements to eect movement of said shaft and door upon rotation of the shaft.

5. In a. refrigerator car, the combination with a pivoted side door; of a shaft journaled on said door and bodily movable therewith; a pair of eccentrically disposed elements on said shaft; and a keeper fixed to the car, said keeper having a plurality of faces adapted to be successively engaged by said elements upon rotation of said shaft to effect movement of the door. I

6. In an operating mechanism for a doorv each other; and keepers secured to the door frame and each cooperable with one of said extreme extended ends of the operating shaft, each keeper and corresponding extreme end of the shaft having cooperating engageable shouldered portions effective to positively cam the door to final closed position when Ythe shaft is operated in one direction and to positively cam the door to partially opened position when the shaft is rotated in the opposite direction.

7. In an operating mechanism for a door mounted on a door frame, the combinationJ with an operating shaft having relatively offset journal sections at each end, the extreme ends of said shaft projecting beyond the corresponding edges of the door; of bearing brackets on the door, each bearing bracket having an elongated bearing opening for each of the journal sections at the corresponding end of the shaft, said bearing openings bei-ng extended at right angles to each other; and keepers mounted on the door frame to cooperate with the respective extreme projected ends of the operating shaft, said keepers and projecting extreme ends of the shaft having cooperating means'operative in an opening movement of the door to eect an opening movement greater than twice the offset of said journal sections ofthe shaft.

8. In an operating mechanism for a door pivotally mounted in a door frame, the combination with an operating shaft having a crank arm section at one end thereof projecting beyond the corresponding edge of the door; of means for attaching said shaft to the door, said means being provided with bearing openings permitting rotation and also bodily shifting of said shaft with respect to the door while being rotated; a. keeper secured to the door frame in line with the shaft and arranged to cooperate with said projected end of the'shaft; and cooperating engagea-ble means on said keeper and projected end of the shaft adapted, upon rotation of the shaft, to force the'door in an opening direction, said means having a cumulative camming action effective to produce an opening movement in excess of twice the offset of said crank arm section with respect to the remainder of the shaft.

9. In a door operating mechanism, the combination with a member having a door opening and a pivoted door; of a keeper fixed to said member adjacent the door opening; a rotary operating shaft adapted to have mounting means associated therewith for attachment to said door; means co-operating with said shaft and said mounting means providing cam means for imparting bodily movement to said shaft uponvrotation thereof; and a plurality of eccentrically disposed members on said shaft, said members being arranged to successively co-act with said keeper to effect movement of the door upon operation of the shaft.

v the door While rotated, and means on said o set portion co-acting with said keeper to effeet movement of the door upon rotation of said shaft.

l1. In a door operating mechanism, the\ combination with a member having a door i f opening and a pivoted door; of an operating shaft rotatably mounted on said door and having an off-set; a keeper fixed on said member; means having cam slots for the reception `of said off-set to effect a camming action therebetween upon rotation of said shaft to l impart bodily movement to said shaft; and

the rotation and bodily movement of the s 12. In a door operating mechanism, the

combination with a member having a door opening and a pivoted door; a rotary operating shaft; means on said shaft and door for effecting travel of a portion of said shaft bodily relative to said door; additional means exending at an anfle to said shaft and adapted to be rotated thereby; and a keeper fixed tosaid member and co-acting with the bodily movable portion ofsaid shaft and said additional means, whereby the combined bodily displacement of said portion and rotational movement of said additional means is effective in imparting movement to said door.

In Witness thatI claimthe foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 18th day of January, 1924.

STACY B. HASELTINE. 

